In the early 1900s, Marion was famous for being the largest shipper of
Strawberries in the entire world! Several hundred ice refrigerated railroad
cars, fully loaded with berries left the Marion Station each day during
the peak of the season. One could see trucks and wagons loaded with strawberries
lined up for over a mile waiting to go through the "auction block"
located in the center of town. Marion was so crowded with people, that it
was difficult to get from one end of the town to the other. It has been
said, that the current annual rate of berry marketing in the US would not
equal one days marketing at Marion Station
75 years ago!

Restored PRR
Passenger Station

The Marion Station was purchased in April of 1997 by John & Kathy
Poulson with the sole intention of creating office space, with little regard
for the heritage surrounding the railroads role in the economy of Marion.
As they stripped away layers of changes made by previous owners, a new sense
of reverence for what this building once stood for began to emerge. They
soon became enthusiastic about restoring rather than renovating. The construction
project soon became their personal archeological site, uncovering old bottles,PRR
inkwells, rubber stamps, Railway Express Agency and Adams Express Money
Order Signs, brass baggage tags, wax seal and numerous receipts, money orders,
baggage tickets from as early as 1898.

Railroad Museum & Gift Shoppe

All artifacts found on the site, along with some other items donated
by local residents, are currently on display in the museum area of the station.

Admission to the museum area is free. Our gift shop and train store is
now open . We are featuring railroad related gifts, caps, t-shirts, mugs,
books, videos, games and more. We will also be carrying train sets for the
model railroader. Its a great place to shop for the railroad enthusiast
of any age! Please stop in and see us!